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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26239561">Kagari-Cavendish v. Cavendish</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleapricot/pseuds/simpleapricot'>simpleapricot</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Little Witch Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:22:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,503</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26239561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleapricot/pseuds/simpleapricot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a mock opinion of the Supreme Court for Magical Affairs considering whether Akko is part of a "magical family" for purposes of magical law. Also, Akko and Diana are married and they hyphenated their surnames.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Kagari-Cavendish v. Cavendish</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a mock appellate opinion. I am going for verisimilitude rather than entertainment, so if you don't like court opinions in real life you probably won't like this. That being said, I had a lot of fun writing this so maybe someone else will enjoy it too.</p><p>Furthermore, I don't know anything about British law, so this is written in the style of an American case.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>SUPREME COURT FOR MAGICAL AFFAIRS</strong>
</p><p>No. 26-379</p><p>DIANA KAGARI-CAVENDISH, PETITIONER v. DARYL CAVENDISH</p><p>ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE HIGH COURT FOR MAGICAL AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND</p><p>[June 24, 2027]</p><p>            CHIEF JUSTICE WILSON delivered the opinion of the Court.</p><p>            In the United Kingdom, the customary usage of the ancient magical families has been to hold real property in fee tail magical. As with common law fee tail, fee tail magical restricts conveyance of real property to the heirs of the donee’s body. Unlike common law fee tail, however, fee tail magical also includes restrictions on the activities of the donee in order to maintain the magical heritage of the family. At issue in this case are restrictions involving marriage, specifically a clause divesting a fee holder who marries a person who is not a “member of a magical family.”</p><p>            The Cavendish estate carries such a condition. Petitioner, Diana Kagari-Cavendish, married Atsuko Kagari-Cavendish in 2026. Respondent, Daryl Cavendish, sought judgment from the Court for Magical Affairs of Wedinburgh that she became the owner of the estate and gained the right to become family Head upon petitioner’s marriage, because Atsuko is not from a magical family, which was granted. Petitioner’s arguments that the conditions were invalid and that Atsuko was a member of a magical family for the purpose of the condition were rejected. The High Court for Magical Affairs of Scotland affirmed. We granted certiorari limited to the question of whether Atsuko Kagari is a “member of a magical family.”</p><p>I</p><p>            The House of Cavendish is one of the most respected magical families in the world. They trace their line directly to Beatrix, one of the Nine Olde Witches, and count among their ranks illustrious witches too numerous to name. The House is traditionally led by a single Head, who assumes office during a ceremony held during the Venusian Eclipse. Although a Head only assumes office upon completion of the ceremony, the right to undergo the ceremony is passed by hereditary succession according to rules that are identical to those for inheritance of the Cavendish estate. Therefore, we will for simplicity’s sake treat the right to become Head as part of the Cavendish estate, heretofore, “the estate.”</p><p>            Diana Kagari-Cavendish is the only daughter of Bernadette Cavendish, the late Head of the House of Cavendish. Upon Ms. Cavendish’s decease in 2012, Diana inherited the estate. However, an order of the Court for Magical Affairs of Wedinburgh placed her sister, Daryl Cavendish, in control of the estate until such time as Diana assumed the office of family Head. Diana performed the ceremony in August of 2023, and she was duly registered with that court as Head without noted objection.</p><p>            Diana married Ms. Atsuko Kagari at Blytonbury on July 9, 2025, and both spouses took the surname Kagari-Cavendish. Atsuko was born in Tokyo, Japan to a family of no known magical lineage. She entered Luna Nova Magical Academy for the upper school course in witchcraft. Atsuko gained notoriety when, with Diana, she diffused the Noir Missile Crisis and brought about the restoration of magic throughout the world. She graduated from Luna Nova with the Class of 2020, having earned the honor of Moonlit Witch in her final year. She is currently engaged as a magical performer and serves on the Luna Nova faculty as a special advisor to students without magical heritage.</p><p>            In October 2025, Daryl Cavendish filed a suit against Diana Kagari-Cavendish in the Court for Magical Affairs of Wedinburgh for judgment that by marrying Atsuko, Diana was divested of the estate, and thus that Daryl became the holder of the estate, including the right to become Head. In reply, Ms. Kagari-Cavendish argued that the conditions on the estate violate the rule against perpetuities, that it was not the intent of the donor to create an estate in fee tail magical, and that Atsuko was a member of a magical family in any case. The trial court held in favor of Daryl on all three points, and its ruling was affirmed by the High Court for Magical Affairs of Scotland. We do not disturb that decision with respect to the first two points. However, our grant of certiorari means that the third merits more detailed attention.</p><p>            In its decision, the Court for Magical Affairs of Wedinburgh held that whether a person is a “member of a magical family” is determined by whether that person has “hereditary links to a family recognized as such by other known magical families.” 271 Mag. Supp. 2d. 278 (D.Wed, 2026). Applying this analysis, the court noted that the Kagari family’s lack of magical lineage means that Atsuko by definition lacks any “hereditary links” to magical families, and thus she cannot be considered a member thereof. 271 Mag. Supp. 2d. 282 (D.Wed, 2026). On appeal, the High Court for Magical Affairs of Scotland affirmed, noting that “the use of the term ‘family’ suggests intention to preserve magic across generations.” 574 Mag. 3d. 589 (2025). It similarly approved of the trial court’s factual findings. 574 Mag. 3d. 592 (2026). We granted certiorari. 211 S. Ct. Mag. ____ (2026).</p><p>II</p><p>            In this case, we are presented with the question of who constitutes a “member of a magical family.” Surprisingly, this is a matter of first impression. Never in the history of this Court have we been called to decide on a case involving this definition despite its ubiquity in magical inheritance law. Thus, it falls to us to establish a standard for determining such status as a matter of law before we consider the specific factual circumstances of this case.</p><p>            To begin, we consider areas where this Court and other courts have addressed analogous questions. Article II of the Statute Establishing a Supreme Court for Magical Affairs grants us appellate jurisdiction in certain cases involving “wizards, witches, and other magical persons.” 12 Mag.C. § 1. Given the complexity of determining jurisdiction in an era with significant interaction between the magical and non-magical worlds, we have decided a number of cases regarding the interpretation of this clause. In <em>Williams v. Davis</em>, we held that the daughter of a witch fell under this clause despite not being a practitioner of magic themselves. 124 S. Ct. Mag. 129. Furthermore, we held in <em>MacDonald v. Brown</em> that a person possessing a diploma from an institution of magical learning constituted “a witch” within the meaning of the clause. 207 S. Ct. Mag. 274.</p><p>            These examples demonstrate that it has been the practice of this Court to construe membership in the magical community broadly. It is in that light that we interpret the incident provision. The courts below held that the criteria of being a “member of a magical family” implicitly required a hereditary component. See <em>supra</em> at 2. However, this standard cannot hold. Are we to believe that the Nine Olde Witches were not “members of magical families” because they founded their respective Houses? It is clear that a person may be a “member of a magical family” without a direct familial relationship to a magic practitioner other than themselves. They may be considered to have founded their own magical family, and without question they can contribute to the continued propagation of the traditions of magic to the next generation.</p><p>            The clear implication of the above paragraph, then, is that witches who are the first in their families to practice magic are “members of magical families.” In this case, we need not articulate a detailed test for who constitutes a witch. Our prior precedent in <em>MacDonald</em> clarifies that persons like Atsuko who are graduates of magical academies are witches in every sense. We leave the question of persons in other situations to another day.</p><p>            This decision may raise the question of what distinguishes a “member of a magical family” from a witch, wizard, or spellcaster. We hold that these terms are to be given an expansive construction. The decision to include “members of magical families” was likely intended to broaden the pool of persons eligible for marriage given the quite small number of magical practitioners. While we are not presented with a case involving this issue, we note that a similar issue arose in <em>Williams</em>, where we expounded upon the importance of the role of non-magic practitioners in magical families. 207 S. Ct. Mag. 274, 280-282. Finally, it is worth noting that we do not pass on the validity of these conditions in light of our human rights case law because the issue was not raised by the parties to this case.</p><p>            Applying the principles elucidated above to the current case is straightforward. Atsuko, having graduated from Luna Nova Magical Academy, is a “member of a magical family” within the wording of the condition. Therefore, Diana was not divested of the estate upon marrying Atsuko, and Daryl Cavendish did not gain ownership of the property.</p><p>  *          *          *</p><p>For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the High Court for Magical Affairs of Scotland is reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.</p><p>
  <em>It is so ordered.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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